(Finalist for the 2006 National Book Award) Concluding the trilogy that began with the Pulitzer Prize–winning Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch focuses here on the turbulent last four years of Martin Luther King's life. At the march for equal voting rights held in Selma, Alabama, a violent response to nonviolent protestors garnered favorable national attention for the cause. As the war in Vietnam steadily escalated, however, King's productive if contentious friendship with Lyndon Johnson disintegrated, and the civil rights movement began to lose cohesiveness and momentum. The final days of MLK are recounted in detail, and Branch assesses the lasting legacy of the fallen leader.

"A thrilling book, marvelous in both its breadth and its detail. There is drama in every paragraph."—Anthony Lewis